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Hyper-mobile migrant workers and Dutch trade union representation strategies at the Eemshaven construction sites

Author

Listed:
  • Lisa Berntsen

    (University of Jyväskylä, Finland; University of Groningen, The Netherlands; University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Nathan Lillie

    (University of Jyväskylä, Finland)

Abstract

The EU regulatory regime and employers’ cross-border recruitment practices complicate unions’ ability to represent increasingly diverse and transnationally mobile workers. Even in institutional contexts where the industrial relations structure and labour law are favourable, such as the Netherlands, unions struggle with maintaining labour standards for these workers. This article analyses Dutch union efforts to represent hyper-mobile construction workers at the Eemshaven construction sites. It shows that the nexus of subcontracting, transnational mobility, legal insularity and employer anti-unionism complicate enforcement so that even well-resourced unions can, at best, improve employment conditions for a limited set of workers and only for a limited period of time.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisa Berntsen & Nathan Lillie, 2016. "Hyper-mobile migrant workers and Dutch trade union representation strategies at the Eemshaven construction sites," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 37(1), pages 171-187, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:37:y:2016:i:1:p:171-187
    DOI: 10.1177/0143831X14537357
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